Islam has two primary
sources, the Quran, and the authentic Traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam),

Those who reject the Sunnah

Those who reject the Sunnah claim to believe in the Qur’an,
and still deny the Sunnah

Some
non-Muslims, Jew, christen, in their vain attempts to weaken Muslims' belief in
Islam, Have launched a major campaign against the Sunnah and hadith.

Since they know that
no Muslim would doubt the holy Qur'an,

They thought that the Sunnah/hadith would be an easy target.

However, they did not know that their attempts would only
work on people with very little knowledge of Islam.

Unfortunately, most Muslims today do not study very much
about Islam and the history of Islam.

Most Muslim countries prefer to teach only a few fiqh issues
in their schools, Such as how to pray and how to fast. They rarely discuss
issues such as Aqidah and the Sunnah for example.

Sunnah:

The Sunnah was
written during the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi
wasallam):

Why the Need for Sunnah

The religion with
which we have been blessed by Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD) through
the Qur’an only lays down broadly the fundamentals for life.

It does not embrace all the details of expositions thereof.

Comprehensive education of the Ummah in the matter of
details has been left entirely to the Mu`alim -I-Qur’an, The Holy Prophet
Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) himself. The overall structure of Islam
has been raised and completed through the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam).

Zakat and other obligations and rites have, no doubt, been
laid down in the Holy Qur’an.

However, there are no details mentioned on any of these
subjects;

So much so that the Qur’an does not even mention the details
of such an extremely important matter as prayers, for example their timings,
total number, and the number of rakaats in each prayer.

The same is true of all other modes of worship and of other
commandments and laws.

For instance, the
Qur’an lays down the cutting of the hands as a penalty for theft. However,

The details have been left to the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) to explain --

As what is the definition of `theft' with reference to the value
thereof?

Or what is the point where the hand should be severed etc.

Now if we rule out Sunnah as a source of Islam, we might
acquire a good knowledge of its fundamentals,

But we would remain
ignorant of their practical version in the same manner as were the followers of
the Din of Prophet Abraham (Alayhi salaam.) during the pre-Islamic dark ages.

Some of them had reclined against the walls of the Kaabah
and had cried out:

`O, Allah, we know
not the right way to worship you. If only we knew it, we would have done so
accordingly'.

This explains that it
is but the Sunnah which elaborates the Qur’an.

That is why the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi
wasallam) has observed:

I have been given
the Qur’an and besides it, something similar to it. (Abu Daud, Kitab al-Sunnah,
Ch 6)

Therefore, the
Sunnah is binding on us as much as the Qur’an itself.

Allah Subhanahu WA Ta’aala (GOD) the Almighty appointed for
us the Messenger for this very purpose so that the Qur’an does not remain
ambiguous,

But is revealed to mankind in a perfectly tangible and ideal
form --

And by actually acting upon the word of the Book, the
Messenger did just that.

We can see,
therefore, that the relation between the Qur’an and Sunnah is that of the soul
and the body.

In other words, the soul
or the spirit of the Qur’an is given,

In the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu
alayhi wasallam), a form for its display.

Both go together to complete the splendid edifice of Islam.

Take away any one of
them, and the whole structure falls apart.

Most Muslim countries prefer to teach only a few fiqh issues
in their schools, such as how to pray and how to fast.

They rarely discuss
issues such as Aqidah and the Sunnah/hadith for example.

We hope that the following quick overview will help Muslims
to discover the truth about the Sunnah.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) had
over 60 "writers" during his life.

These "writers" used to write for the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) everything he ordered them such as the
holy Qur'an, Letters to other leaders and to Muslims governors, agreements with
other nations or tribes and other such documents.

Therefore, a large
part of the Sunnah was written officially in this format during the life of the
Prophet. In addition to this,

Individuals used to also write the Hadith, or sayings of the
Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam),

And some deviant groups use this as a basis for them to
disregard the entire Sunnah.

There is only one Sahih (correct) hadith about this from the
Prophet which says the following:

This hadith can be
translated as: "Do not write about (or from) me,

And whoever wrote anything from me other than the Qur'an he
should erase it",

And in one narration the following statement is added:
"and say the hadith about me with no restrictions,

And whoever lies on my behalf should be ready to take his
place in the hell fire". The hadith is narrated in Sahih Muslim.

This hadith is the only hadith that is Sahih where the Holy
Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) orders the companions not to
write the Sunnah.

On the other hand, there are many hadith where the Holy
Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) orders his companions to write
the Sunnah.

The following are two examples:

The first hadith is narrated in Sahih Bukhari, where the
Prophet orders his companions to write his sayings for a person named "Abi
Shah".

This occurred during the final hajj season before the death
of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)

The second hadith occurred when one companion asked the Holy
Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) whether he should write the
Sunnah,

And the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)
replied by pointing to his mouth and saying:

"Write, for by
Allah, nothing comes out of this except the truth".

This hadith is also Sahih,
and is narrated by Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawood.

Muslim scholars have explained these hadith in several ways,

I.e. examine two
below:

1. That the order not to write the Sunnah was early in
Islam, when

The Holy Prophet
Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) was afraid that his sayings would get
mixed with the holy Qur'an.

But once Muslims were able to recognize the style of the
holy Qur'an, which is unique from any other style,

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)
allowed the writing of the hadith.

This is especially strengthened by the fact that we know
that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)

Ordered the companions to write his sayings during the last
hajj he performed.

2. That the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi
wasallam) forbid writing the Sunnah during the time the holy Qur'an was being
revealed And written, or that he forbid writing the Sunnah in the same papers
or books as the holy Qur'an.

There are other opinions by various scholars, but the
important thing is that the scholars of Islam have agreed by consensus that the
Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) did indeed allow and in
fact ordered the companions to write the Sunnah.

This consensus is reported by, among others, the well known
scholars of Hadith:

Now that we know that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu
alayhi wasallam) did ask the companions to write the Sunnah,

And he definitely asked them to transmit it orally,

We ask: What are some
examples of the Sunnah written during the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam).

These include some documents written by the
"writers" of the Prophet upon his order,

Such as his letters to the kings and leaders of various
nations, his letters to other tribes inviting them to Islam, His letters to the
Muslim governors, judges and Zakat workers to guide them in their work, and a
number of agreements, treaties and contracts and so on.

In addition to the official documents mentioned earlier,
which were written by the order of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu
alayhi wasallam),

There were other writings by the individual efforts of the
companions.

These include the following: "Assaheefa Assadiqa",
written by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-'as, R.A and it contained one thousand
hadith.

Also, there were the books of Sa'ad ibn Obadiah R.A., Mo'ath
ibn Jabal R.A. and Abi Raafi' R.A. In addition,

All of these are the books and writings of the companions of
the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam),

Who heard the hadith directly
from him peace be upon him.

Many of these documents, both the official ones and the
individual writings by the companions, are preserved until today in the books
of Sunnah, history and Seerah.

Therefore, it is clear that there is no place for anyone to
claim that the Sunnah was not written during the time of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam).

In addition to all this, Muslims also used to memorize the
hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam).

In fact, some scholars when collecting the hadith used to
prefer to take hadith from one who memorizes it over one who has the hadith
written.

This is because the one who memorized the hadith is less
likely to make a mistake, and is more likely to have understood the hadith and
worked based on its teachings.

Lest anyone should suggest the sources of the foregoing
discussion on the believers’ way are historical exposition

Written down after the lifetime of the Companions, and
therefore unreliable,

We would argue as follows. It is beyond doubt that the
Qur’an and its injunctions and the commandments to believe in

And act to according to it is valid and continue to be
propagated.

The only question is whether or not the believers’ way can
be actually ascertained.

To entertain any doubts amounts to an abrogation of the
Qur’an,

And no sane and
educated non-believer would venture to suggest to a Muslim its rejection.

As long as the path of following the Qur’an remains open,
access to the believers’ way (that is, the presence of the Quranic injunctions)
must also remain open. Likewise the means to obtain complete knowledge of it
must remain unchanged.

That being so, what other course is there to acquire
detailed information regarding the practice Of the earliest Muslims than to
refer to the compilations of Traditions and the books on Tabaqat, Asma’
ar-Rijal, History and the life-record of the reporters of Seerah, Hadith and
Islamic history?

To declare these sources of knowledge unreliable, false or
fictitious would mean shutting the door on practical adherence to the Qur’an.

Moreover, the superiority that Islam and the Muslims enjoy
over all other faiths and religious communities would also be destroyed.

For it would necessarily mean that the Muslims had no
history, no intellectual or practical achievements to their credit, since there
is no dependable way of knowing about those achievements. Surely, no Muslim could
accept such a position.

How strangely inconsistent is the behavior of some of the
deniers of the Traditions.

For they believe
history to be true but hold the Hadith to be untrustworthy.

Yet these historians neither make effort to indicate how

And through what source they came by their knowledge of any
particular event,

Nor observe the conditions prescribed and adopted by the
traditionalists for testing the authenticity of those reports.

Is it not absurd that chronological narratives of past
events should be acceptable?

But not the standard collections of the Traditions even
though it was strictly laid down for the compilers of the Traditions that

They must indicate in
unbroken succession the sources and authorities for every single report that came
to their knowledge of the sayings

And deeds of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi
wasallam) or of events and circumstances relating to the Companions, and
further, that there must be conclusive evidence available as to the veracity,
integrity and reliability of those sources and authorities?

To reject the Traditions as unreliable, despite solid and
irrefutable proofs of their truth and authenticity, is to say that their
collectors

And compilers
recorded incorrect and imaginary reports together with spurious references and
a concocted chain of narrators!

These critics and fault-finders should ask themselves
whether it is possible that no "genuine"

Muslim was present at the time of the collection of hadith
to challenge the fraud and condemn it?

Take al-Muwatta by Imam Malik r.a., for example.

According to Abu Talib
this volume of Traditions was compiled in 120 or 130 AH i.e. 110 or 120 years
after the death of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam).

Until about twelve or
twenty-three years before its compilation venerable Companions who had had

The good fortune to see or hear the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) in person were alive,

While the number of Tabieen (those who immediately followed
the Companions and profited from their company)

Who lived throughout the Islamic territories of the Hijaz, Syria?

Egypt
and Iraq,
and in Madinah itself, where the book (al-Muwatta) took shape, was very
considerable indeed. We give the names of a few of them:

(I) Ishaaq b. ‘Abd Allah b. Abu Talha (d. 136 AH)

(ii) Isma’il b. Muhammad b. Zuhri (d. 134 AH)

(iii) Rabee’a b. Abu ‘Abd ar-Rahman (d. 129 AH)

(IV). Zaid b. Aslam (d. 136 AH)

(v) Salem
b. Abu Umaya (d. 129 AH)

(vi). SA’d b. Ishaaq (d. after 140 AH)

(vii) Sa’eed b. Abu Sa’eed al-Maqburee (d. 123 AH)

(viii) Salma b. Dinar (d. after 140 AH)

(ix) Shareek b. ‘Abd Allah b. Abu Nimr (d. after 140 AH)

(x) Salih b. Kaysaan (d. after 140 AH)

(xi) Sufyan b. Sulaym (d. 124 AH)

(xii) ‘Abd Allah b. Abu Bakr b. Abu Hazm (d. 135 AH)

(xiii) ‘Abd Allah b. Dinar (d. 127 AH)

(xiv) Abu as -Zinad (d. 130 AH)

(xv) ‘Abd ar-Rabb b. Sa’eed (d. 139 AH)

(xvi) Muhammad b. al-Munkadir (d. 131 AH)

(xvii) Makhramah b. Suleiman (d. 130 AH)

(xviii) Musa b. ‘Uqbah (d. 141 AH)

(xix) Wahb b. Kaysaan (d. 127 AH)

(xx) Yahyaa b. Sa’eed, the Qadi of Madinah (d. 143 AH)

(xxi) Yazid b. ‘Abd Allah al-Lathe (d. 139 AH)

(xxii) Yazid b. Ruman (d. 130 AH)

(xxiii) Hisham b. ‘Urwah (d. 145 AH)

(xxiv) Miswar b. Rafee’ah (d. 138 AH)

(xxv) Abu Tuwalaah, the Qadi of Madinah (d. 132 AH)

Leaving aside the bonds created through direct instruction
and training,

The period of time between the generations of the Tabi’un

And the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)
was the same as that between grandfather and grandchildren.

Thus, even if the deliberate effort of teaching and
instruction had not been made,

The people of that generation would have become acquainted,
in the normal course of things,

No, by your Lord
and Sustainer, they do not have faith until they have you (O Prophet) judge
what is disputed among them, then they do not find in their souls any distress
at what you have decided, and they accept it wholly and completely.

He says that when He and the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) have decided a matter, it is not for any
believing man or woman to do anything but obey (Surah al-Ahzab ayah 36).

And it is not ever
for a faithful man or a faithful woman, when Allah and His Messenger have
decided an affair that there is any choice for them in their affair, and who
disobeys Allah and His Messenger, so he is indeed wandering far astray.

He says that what the Messenger gives, people should take,
and what he prohibits, they should abstain from (Surah al-Hashr ayah 7).

...And what the
Messenger gives you, so take it, and what he prohibits you, so refrain from it.
And be in awe of Allah. Surely Allah is Stern of Punishment.

How do we determine what the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) has ordered, in order to obey it?

How do we find out what he judged in disputes so that we can
abide by it?

How do we know what he has decided on matters, so that we
can submit to it?

How do we discover what he has given, so that we can take
it, or what he has prohibited, so we can abstain from it?

The answer to all these questions is very simple: we look to
the SUNNA. If you deny the validity of the Sunna

Then you may end up disobeying what the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) has commanded,

Turning away from what he has judged,

Rejecting what he has decided, ignoring what he has given,
and doing what he has prohibited.

And if you do these acts of disobedience, turning-away,
rejecting, ignoring, and doing-the-prohibited then YOU HAVE DISOBEYED ALLAH Subhanahu
WA Ta’aala (GOD).

It's that simple. It
is incumbent upon every Muslim to obey both the Quran and the Sunna.

Read the verses I have cited for you my friend.

What do you think they mean?

Those who reject the Sunnah claim to believe in the Qur’an,
and still deny the Sunnah.

It is hard to understand their logic, since, as the Qur’an
is proved by the verbal adherence of the Ummah,

Likewise the Sunnah is proved by the practical adherence of
the Ummah.

If these people reject the Sunnah, there is no justification
to accept the Qur’an.

There is hardly any difference in the credentials of
either.

It is rather
important that the difference between Hadith and Sunnah, elucidated in the
foregoing pages,

Be kept in mind. When
this difference was overlooked, the result was that the denial of a few Hadith
was construed to mean the denial of the Sunnah.

Thereafter, whatever doubts were invented against the Hadith
by the non-believers of Hadith were extended by them to deny the Sunnah as well,
Though the denial of the Sunnah is tantamount to denial of the Qur’an itself,
as already explained.

Those who are
familiar with the history of the denial of Hadith are fully aware that this
mischief actually raised its head over a few Hadith of anomalous nature.

However, later on this matter turned into a hot-bed of
debates;

In the heat of arguments people lost sight of the difference
between Hadith and Sunnah.

In such battles of wits, the attacking party failed to
realize what they were attacking;

Nor did the defenders knew what exactly they had to defend
and wasted their energies on a different front. In their ignorance, either side
ended up in a loss.

The non-believers of Hadith stretched their doctrines so far
as to touch the bounds of Kufr (disbelief), and the supporters of Hadith, on
the other hand quite unnecessarily dragged the Sunnah as well along with the
Hadith into the firing-range.

The Isnad acted and acts as a type of guarantee or safeguard
for the authenticity of the hadith